SC issues notice to Gujarat govt on Teesta Setalvad’s interim bail plea

India

oi-Prakash KL

New
Delhi,
Aug
22:
Supreme
Court
on
Monday
issued
notice
to
Gujarat
government
on
a
plea
of
Teesta
Setalvad
seeking
interim
bail
in
a
case
in
which
she
was
arrested
for
allegedly
fabricating
documents
to
frame
innocent
people
in
2002
Gujarat
riots
cases,
news
agency
ANI
reported.

Stating
that
he
had
represented
some
of
the
accused
in
the
Sohrabuddin
murder
case,
Justice
Lalit
asked
whether
he
counsel
has
any
objection
to
hearing
this
case,
Kapil
Sibal,
appearing
for
Teesta,
said
“no”.
Then,
the
bench,
also
comprising
Justices
S
Ravindra
Bhat
and
Sudhanshu
Dhulia,
started
hearing
the
case.

Drawing
the
court’s
attention
towards
to
the
FIR
against
Setalvad,
Sibal
said,
the
allegations
in
the
FIR
are
pure
recitation
of
proceedings
which
happened
and
culminated
before
the
apex
court,
according
to
Live
Law.

Gujarat
court
rejects
bail
pleas
of
Teesta
Setalvad

“We
issue
notice.
Returnable
on
Thursday.
Serve
State
of
Gujarat
standing
counsel.
Then
we
will
consider
interim
relief
even
when
matter
is
pending
in
High
Court,”
Bar
and
Bench
quoted
the
judges
as
saying.

On
August
16,
the
Supreme
Court
agreed
to
list
the
matter
for
hearing
the
bail
plea
of
social
activist
Teesta
Setalvad
and
took
note
of
the
submissions
of
lawyer
Aparna
Bhat,
appearing
for
the
activist.

The
Gujarat
High
Court,
on
August
3,
issued
a
notice
to
the
state
government
on
the
bail
plea
of
Setalvad
and
fixed
the
plea
for
hearing
on
September
19.

Prior
to
this,
a
sessions
court
at
Ahmedabad,
on
July
30,
had
rejected
the
bail
applications
of
Setalvad
and
former
Director
General
of
Police
R
B
Sreekumar
in
the
case,
saying
that
if
they
were
released,
it
will
send
a
message
to
wrongdoers
that
a
person
can
level
allegations
with
impunity
and
get
away
with
it.

Setalvad
and
former
Director
General
of
Police
(DGP)
RB
Sreekumar,
both
arrested
in
June,
are
accused
of
fabricating
evidence
to
frame
“innocent
people”
in
the
post-Godhra
riots
cases.

They
are
lodged
in
the
Sabarmati
central
jail.
Sreekumar
has
also
moved
the
high
court
for
bail.

Former
IPS
officer
Sanjiv
Bhatt,
the
third
accused
in
the
case,
has
not
applied
for
bail.
Bhatt
was
already
in
jail
for
another
criminal
matter
when
he
was
arrested
in
this
case.

The
accused
apparently
aimed
to
“destabilize”
the
Gujarat
government
and
defame
the
state
for
their
ulterior
motives,
it
said
while
denying
them
relief.

No
visible
trend
of
increase
in
communal
riots
every
year:
Govt
in
LS

They
were
arrested
by
the
Ahmedabad
city
crime
branch
in
June
after
a
First
Information
Report
(FIR)
was
registered
against
them
under
Indian
Penal
Code
sections
468
(forgery
for
cheating)
and
194
(fabricating
false
evidence
with
intent
to
procure
conviction
for
capital
offences).

Mumbai-based
Setalvad
and
Sreekumar
were
arrested
within
a
couple
of
days
after
the
Supreme
Court
on
June
24
dismissed
a
petition
filed
by
Zakia
Jafri,
the
wife
of
former
Congress
MP
Ehsaan
Jafri
who
was
killed
in
Ahmedabad
during
the
riots,
triggered
by
the
torching
of
a
coach
of
Sabarmati
Express
by
a
mob
near
Godhra
station
on
February
27,
2002.

As
many
as
59
passengers
were
charred
to
death
in
the
incident.